Pousada de Lisboa, Praça do Comércio

If you notice a certain repetition in naming, you’re not imagining things — the Pousadas de Portugal are a chain of sorts, created by the government as a way of showcasing the nation’s architectural history, but long since privatized. They’re all a bit different, but they tend to take a classic building, whether a rustic old farmhouse or a gorgeous baroque palace, and kit it out with the latest in luxe-hospitality accoutrements, so you can eat your cultural-history vegetables and enjoy your luxury-hotel dessert all at the same time. And in Pousada de Lisboa, Praça do Comércio, the pousadas have something of an urban flagship: right here in Lisbon’s Palace Square — Commerce Square, in a former government ministry building, you’ll find a hotel that’s worthy of its privileged position along the capital’s waterfront.

With 90 rooms and suites it’s no small affair. The classic rooms are swanky enough, and upgrades span the range all the way up to the river-view suites and the D. Perignon suite, which is over a hundred square meters of exactly what you’d expect the Perignon suite to be. Equally bubbly are the public spaces, the elegant restaurant and bar, and the extravagant ballroom, which might just make you wish you were here for more than just a hotel stay.